Philippine Foreign Property Ownership

Foreigners
can protect their Philippine investments into
Philippine real estate and other investment assets.
We provide Foreign Nationals various ways from Retirement Investment Visas to Philippine Incorporation services so they can
protect their Philippine investment interests.
More information on our services is provided below, and
or contact us with your specific requirements so we can provide you all options that best suit your needs.

Options Available To Provide Complete Benefits & Protection

For foreigners retiring, investing and doing business
in the Philippines requires more than one of these
options below in conjunction together to best accomplish
the total task required by each foreign real estate buyer, retiree,
and investor.

Right To Own Philippine Real Property

Currently the general rule
is that only Filipino citizens and
corporations
or partnerships at least 60% Philippine owned
are entitled to acquire land in the Philippines.
As an exception to this rule, an alien acquisition
of Philippine real estate is allowed in the following
cases. Acquisition before the 1935 constitution.
Acquisition thru hereditary succession if the
foreign acquiree is a legal heir. Purchase of
not more than 40% interest as a whole in a condominium
project. Purchase by a former natural born Filipino
citizen subject to the limitations prescribed
by law. A Filipino who is married to an alien
retains their Philippine citizenship, unless by
their act or omission they are deemed to have
renounced their Philippine citizenship.

Pending Legislation To Provide Foreigners 100%
Ownership

Rumor has it that the Philippine Government is
considering 100% ownership of Philippine real
estate land for foreigners. If and when this happens
we will post it here. In the meantime, the information
below will provide more insight as to how a foreigner
can hold title to Philippine real estate with
the most benefits and lowest risk possible.

Special Visas for Foreigners
Investing in the Philippines

There
are different visa options available to foreigners
that allow foreign investment of Philippine land
and real estate properties. Having the proper
Philippine visa in conjunction with your specific
requirements is just one step to securely holding
title to Philippine real estate as a foreigner.
Contact us with your specific requirements so
we can provide you with the options that best
suits your needs. For Philippine visa and immigration
issues only, go to the Philippines Government
Bureau of Immigration web site for more information
on Philippine Visas. http://www.immigration.gov.ph/. We process
all types of Philippine visas from retirement
visa, investors visas, working visas, resident
alien visa, and others.

Foreign
Ownership as a Philippine Corporation

The
typical common way for foreign nationals to best
protect themselves in purchasing and investing
in Philippine real estate is for the Foreign national
and or foreign corporation to create a Philippine
corporation to hold title. This allows the Philippine
corporation of a foreign national or foreign corporation
the lowest investment risk and more control of
their Philippine real estate investments, and
other Philippine investment assets. Foreign nationals,
and corporations may 100% own a Philippine condominium
or town home without the need of forming a Philippine
Corporation. For private land, residential home
with land lot and or commercial building with
land lot ownership the foreign national and or
corporation forms a Philippine Corporation to
take ownership of the property. A Philippine Corporation
with Foreign Nationals as required by Philippine
law will be a maximum of 40% foreign owned, and
a minimum of 60% Filipino owned. A foreign national may
be the sole person on the Philippine corporation
bank account once after the Philippine corporation
has been created provided the foreigner has the
proper Philippine Visa status, and power of attorney
agreements. This structure allows the foreign
national total control over the funds derived
and paid out from the Philippine Corporation and
from the income or sale of the asset or real estate
property within the corporation. This method is
by far the most complete and secure way for foreigners
to purchase and hold Philippine real estate assets.

Form a Philippine Corporation to hold Title

We provide our foreign national clients Philippine incorporation services. Most incorporations are
simple and affordable to process depending on
the type of corporation to be formed. Different
types of corporations have different rules, regulations,
and minimum capital funding requirements. Typical
incorporations to hold Philippine real estate
may be a "General Real Estate" or "Trading or
Marketing Company" or something similar to be
able to buy, hold and sell Philippine real estate
property. Corporations can be formed to conduct
business in the Philippines as well. The first
step to forming a Philippine Corporation is having
Philippine incorporation partners you can trust
to be team players with you in your Philippine
investment plans. Many times the Philippine incorporators
will be Philippine family, relatives, friends,
business associates whom the foreign national
can trust to be a part of the Philippine corporation.
With additional separate legal enforceable agreements
such as a power of attorney and other types of
agreements, Philippine incorporators become silent
partners and team players with foreign investor
partners wishing to make Philippine investments
without having their investments at risk in case
of unforeseen events or changes in their investments
plans. Contact us with your specific requirements
to learn more about our Philippine Incorporation
Services and how we help protect our foreign clients
Philippine investments interests. We only provide
legal means for foreign investors to protect their
capital, and interests in Philippine investments.
We provide these services that follow Philippine
investment laws, rules, regulations, and do not
provide any services to anyone that violate these
or to perform money laundering. We comply with
and follow the international money laundering
rules and regulations.

New Dual Citizenship Laws Affecting Property Ownership

Dual
citizenship is now newly available for the following.
Dual citizenship means having two citizenships
and passports from two different countries. Former
Philippine citizens born in the Philippines, but
that have immigrated to another country and obtained
citizenship of that country. Dual citizenship
allows the citizenship holder full rights of possession
of Philippine real estate property. Click the following link for more information on Philippine Dual Citizenship.

Foreigner Married to a Philippine Citizen

If
holding title as an individual, a typical situation
would be that a foreigner married to a Philippine
spouse citizen would hold title in the Philippine
spouses name. The foreign spouse name cannot be
on the property Title but can be on the contract
to buy the property, and should be to document
the process taken to obtain such asset. In the
event of death of the Philippine spouse, the foreign
spouse is allowed a "reasonable" amount of time
from the Philippine government to dispose of the
property and collect the proceeds or the property
will pass to any Philippine heirs and or relatives.
As a foreign investor caution should be taken
upon considering and taking title to Philippine
real estate in this manner. In the event of problems
with the Philippine spouse and the investment
assets in the Philippine spouse name, the foreign
national may not have many rights to the assets
or any at all. There have been many cases where
the foreign spouse intrusted all of the Philippine
assets to the Philippine spouse, then there was
a split in the relationship and the foreigner
lost his invested monies. We don't want our foreign
clients becoming another victim of this. Contact
us before choosing this option so we can provide
you other options and let you make the decision.

Foreign Leasing of Philippine Real Estate Property

A
foreign national and or corporation may enter
into a lease agreement with Filipino landowners
for an initial period of up to 50 years, and renewable
for another 25 years. Or lease the property in
your Philippine Corporation name for an unlimited
period of time.

Former Philippine Citizens

"Balikbayan",
which is a former natural born Filipino citizen,
and now is a citizen of another country is entitled
to own for residential purpose 1,000 square meters
of residential land, and one hectare of agricultural
or farm land. For business purpose 5,000 square
meters of urban land or three hectares of rural
land. This is one option for Balikbayans to take
ownership of Philippine real estate but the better
option that provide less restrictions and more
benefits is to form a Philippine corporation.

Philippine Real Estate Sales Transaction
& Closing Costs

Buyers transaction or closing
costs include the following. Documentary Stamp
Tax - P5.00 per P1,000 of contract price, or zonal
value or fair market value, which ever is higher.
Transfer Tax - P5.00 per P1,000 of contract price,
or zonal value or fair market value, which ever
is higher. Registration Fee - P1.50 per P1,000
of contract price, or zonal value or fair market
value, which ever is higher. The seller
is responsible for transaction closing cost of
capital gains tax. This is Philippine Real Estate
Law.

Philippine Law Real Estate Acquisition and Disposition Definitions

Acquisition is the act of procuring or getting a hold of real estate property. Disposition is the manner of alienation, transfer of possession and ownership thereof as prescribed by the Philippine law. The acquisition and disposition of real estate is embodied in written agreements or contracts voluntarily entered into and subscribed by the selling and buying parties thereof, before a public officer designated as the Notary Public of the City or Province where the subject property is located. Thereafter, the instrument embodying the particular real estate transaction is required by law to be recorded in the Registry of Deeds in the City or Province where the real estate property is involved and located. The Philippines uses the "Torrens" system of real estate ownership. See below for more information.

Torrens System of Real Estate Ownership

An adapted form of the "Torrens" system of land registration is used in the Philippines. The system was adapted to assure a buyer that if he buys a land covered by an Original Certificate of Title (OCT) or the more familiar Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) issued by the Register of Deeds, the same will be absolute, indefeasible and imprescriptible. The registered owner will never lose his ownership to squatters no matter how long such land was illegally occupied.

Condominium Residential Commercial Development Ownership Law

Presidential Decree No. 957, which regulates the sale of subdivision and condominium developments, and providing penalties for violations thereof. The National Housing Authority has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate real estate trade and business, a function, which is presently exercised by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB). Certain conditions are required before a license to sell condominium development units and or subdivision development lots and homes is issued to a Filipino or Foreign owned individual or corporation. The requirements include a certificate of registration, a performance bond, and an approval of the building plans and specifications. Violation of these rules could mean fines, cancellation of license and or imprisonment.

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